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How to implement slicing HetNets in ns3

To implement the network slicing in Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets) in ns3 has to generate the virtualized network slices that share the same physical infrastructure but it logically isolate to support the numerous use cases or service needs. Here, the given below is the procedure to achieve this in ns3:

Step-by-Step Implementation:

Step 1: Set Up ns3 Environment

  1. Download ns3: Install the ns3 tool.
  2. Install ns3: Follow the installation instructions for your operating system.
  3. Familiarize yourself with ns3 basics: Understand how to create nodes, set up channels, and run basic simulations.

Step 2: Define Network Topology

Generate the network topology that contains macro cell base stations, small cell base stations, and user equipment (UE) nodes.

Create HetNet Topology with Network Slicing

#include “ns3/core-module.h”

#include “ns3/network-module.h”

#include “ns3/internet-module.h”

#include “ns3/point-to-point-module.h”

#include “ns3/lte-module.h”

#include “ns3/applications-module.h”

#include “ns3/mobility-module.h”

using namespace ns3;

NS_LOG_COMPONENT_DEFINE(“HetNetSlicingSimulation”);

void CreateSlice(Ptr<LteHelper> lteHelper, Ptr<Node> pgw, NodeContainer ueNodes, NodeContainer enbNodes, std::string sliceId)

{

// Install LTE devices to the nodes

NetDeviceContainer enbLteDevs = lteHelper->InstallEnbDevice(enbNodes);

NetDeviceContainer ueLteDevs = lteHelper->InstallUeDevice(ueNodes);

// Attach UEs to the eNB

for (uint32_t i = 0; i < ueNodes.GetN(); ++i)

{

lteHelper->AttachToClosestEnb(ueLteDevs.Get(i), enbLteDevs);

}

// Assign IP addresses to UEs

Ptr<PointToPointEpcHelper> epcHelper = DynamicCast<PointToPointEpcHelper>(lteHelper->GetEpcHelper());

Ipv4InterfaceContainer ueIpIface = epcHelper->AssignUeIpv4Address(NetDeviceContainer(ueLteDevs));

// Install and start applications on UEs and remote host

uint16_t dlPort = 1234;

ApplicationContainer clientApps, serverApps;

for (uint32_t i = 0; i < ueNodes.GetN(); ++i)

{

UdpClientHelper dlClient(ueIpIface.GetAddress(i), dlPort);

dlClient.SetAttribute(“Interval”, TimeValue(MilliSeconds(100)));

dlClient.SetAttribute(“MaxPackets”, UintegerValue(1000));

clientApps.Add(dlClient.Install(pgw));

UdpServerHelper dlServer(dlPort);

serverApps.Add(dlServer.Install(ueNodes.Get(i)));

}

serverApps.Start(Seconds(0.01));

clientApps.Start(Seconds(0.01));

// Enable tracing

lteHelper->EnableTraces();

}

int main(int argc, char *argv[])

{

CommandLine cmd;

cmd.Parse(argc, argv);

// Create nodes

NodeContainer ueNodesSlice1, ueNodesSlice2;

ueNodesSlice1.Create(10); // User equipment (UE) nodes for Slice 1

ueNodesSlice2.Create(10); // User equipment (UE) nodes for Slice 2

NodeContainer macroEnbNodes;

macroEnbNodes.Create(1); // Macro cell eNB (base station) node

NodeContainer smallEnbNodesSlice1, smallEnbNodesSlice2;

smallEnbNodesSlice1.Create(1); // Small cell eNB (base station) node for Slice 1

smallEnbNodesSlice2.Create(1); // Small cell eNB (base station) node for Slice 2

// Set up LTE

Ptr<LteHelper> lteHelper = CreateObject<LteHelper>();

Ptr<PointToPointEpcHelper> epcHelper = CreateObject<PointToPointEpcHelper>();

lteHelper->SetEpcHelper(epcHelper);

Ptr<Node> pgw = epcHelper->GetPgwNode();

InternetStackHelper internet;

internet.Install(ueNodesSlice1);

internet.Install(ueNodesSlice2);

// Set up mobility

MobilityHelper mobility;

mobility.SetPositionAllocator(“ns3::GridPositionAllocator”,

“MinX”, DoubleValue(0.0),

“MinY”, DoubleValue(0.0),

“DeltaX”, DoubleValue(50.0),

“DeltaY”, DoubleValue(50.0),

“GridWidth”, UintegerValue(3),

“LayoutType”, StringValue(“RowFirst”));

mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::ConstantPositionMobilityModel”);

mobility.Install(macroEnbNodes);

mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::ConstantPositionMobilityModel”);

mobility.Install(smallEnbNodesSlice1);

mobility.Install(smallEnbNodesSlice2);

mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::RandomWalk2dMobilityModel”,

“Bounds”, RectangleValue(Rectangle(-150, 150, -150, 150)));

mobility.Install(ueNodesSlice1);

mobility.Install(ueNodesSlice2);

// Create network slices

CreateSlice(lteHelper, pgw, ueNodesSlice1, smallEnbNodesSlice1, “Slice1”);

CreateSlice(lteHelper, pgw, ueNodesSlice2, smallEnbNodesSlice2, “Slice2”);

Simulator::Run();

Simulator::Destroy();

return 0;

}

Step 3: Configure Mobility

Set up mobility models to simulate realistic scenarios where UEs can move.

// Set up mobility

MobilityHelper mobility;

mobility.SetPositionAllocator(“ns3::GridPositionAllocator”,

“MinX”, DoubleValue(0.0),

“MinY”, DoubleValue(0.0),

“DeltaX”, DoubleValue(50.0),

“DeltaY”, DoubleValue(50.0),

“GridWidth”, UintegerValue(3),

“LayoutType”, StringValue(“RowFirst”));

mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::ConstantPositionMobilityModel”);

mobility.Install(macroEnbNodes);

mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::ConstantPositionMobilityModel”);

mobility.Install(smallEnbNodesSlice1);

mobility.Install(smallEnbNodesSlice2);

mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::RandomWalk2dMobilityModel”,

“Bounds”, RectangleValue(Rectangle(-150, 150, -150, 150)));

mobility.Install(ueNodesSlice1);

mobility.Install(ueNodesSlice2);

Step 4: Implement Slicing

Implement network slicing by creating separate slices with specific configurations.

Function to Create a Slice

void CreateSlice(Ptr<LteHelper> lteHelper, Ptr<Node> pgw, NodeContainer ueNodes, NodeContainer enbNodes, std::string sliceId)

{

// Install LTE devices to the nodes

NetDeviceContainer enbLteDevs = lteHelper->InstallEnbDevice(enbNodes);

NetDeviceContainer ueLteDevs = lteHelper->InstallUeDevice(ueNodes);

 

// Attach UEs to the eNB

for (uint32_t i = 0; i < ueNodes.GetN(); ++i)

{

lteHelper->AttachToClosestEnb(ueLteDevs.Get(i), enbLteDevs);

}

 

// Assign IP addresses to UEs

Ptr<PointToPointEpcHelper> epcHelper = DynamicCast<PointToPointEpcHelper>(lteHelper->GetEpcHelper());

Ipv4InterfaceContainer ueIpIface = epcHelper->AssignUeIpv4Address(NetDeviceContainer(ueLteDevs));

// Install and start applications on UEs and remote host

uint16_t dlPort = 1234;

ApplicationContainer clientApps, serverApps;

for (uint32_t i = 0; i < ueNodes.GetN(); ++i)

{

UdpClientHelper dlClient(ueIpIface.GetAddress(i), dlPort);

dlClient.SetAttribute(“Interval”, TimeValue(MilliSeconds(100)));

dlClient.SetAttribute(“MaxPackets”, UintegerValue(1000));

clientApps.Add(dlClient.Install(pgw));

UdpServerHelper dlServer(dlPort);

serverApps.Add(dlServer.Install(ueNodes.Get(i)));

}

serverApps.Start(Seconds(0.01));

clientApps.Start(Seconds(0.01));

// Enable tracing

lteHelper->EnableTraces();

}

Step 5: Install and Configure Applications

To generate and process network traffic download the applications on the nodes

// Create network slices

CreateSlice(lteHelper, pgw, ueNodesSlice1, smallEnbNodesSlice1, “Slice1”);

CreateSlice(lteHelper, pgw, ueNodesSlice2, smallEnbNodesSlice2, “Slice2”);

 

Step 6: Enable Tracing

Enable tracing to analyse the network performance.

// Enable tracing

lteHelper->EnableTraces();

Full Example Code

Here, we provide the complete sample snippet that are

#include “ns3/core-module.h”

#include “ns3/network-module.h”

#include “ns3/internet-module.h”

#include “ns3/point-to-point-module.h”

#include “ns3/lte-module.h”

#include “ns3/applications-module.h”

#include “ns3/mobility-module.h”

using namespace ns3;

NS_LOG_COMPONENT_DEFINE(“HetNetSlicingSimulation”);

void CreateSlice(Ptr<LteHelper> lteHelper, Ptr<Node> pgw, NodeContainer ueNodes, NodeContainer enbNodes, std::string sliceId)

{

// Install LTE devices to the nodes

NetDeviceContainer enbLteDevs = lteHelper->InstallEnbDevice(enbNodes);

NetDeviceContainer ueLteDevs = lteHelper->InstallUeDevice(ueNodes);

// Attach UEs to the eNB

for (uint32_t i = 0; i < ueNodes.GetN(); ++i)

{

lteHelper->AttachToClosestEnb(ueLteDevs.Get(i), enbLteDevs);

}

// Assign IP addresses to UEs

Ptr<PointToPointEpcHelper> epcHelper = DynamicCast<PointToPointEpcHelper>(lteHelper->GetEpcHelper());

Ipv4InterfaceContainer ueIpIface = epcHelper->AssignUeIpv4Address(NetDeviceContainer(ueLteDevs));

// Install and start applications on UEs and remote host

uint16_t dlPort = 1234;

ApplicationContainer clientApps, serverApps;

for (uint32_t i = 0; i < ueNodes.GetN(); ++i)

{

UdpClientHelper dlClient(ueIpIface.GetAddress(i), dlPort);

dlClient.SetAttribute(“Interval”, TimeValue(MilliSeconds(100)));

dlClient.SetAttribute(“MaxPackets”, UintegerValue(1000));

clientApps.Add(dlClient.Install(pgw));

UdpServerHelper dlServer(dlPort);

serverApps.Add(dlServer.Install(ueNodes.Get(i)));

}

serverApps.Start(Seconds(0.01));

clientApps.Start(Seconds(0.01));

// Enable tracing

lteHelper->EnableTraces();

}

int main(int argc, char *argv[])

{

CommandLine cmd;

cmd.Parse(argc, argv);

// Create nodes

NodeContainer ueNodesSlice1, ueNodesSlice2;

ueNodesSlice1.Create(10); // User equipment (UE) nodes for Slice 1

ueNodesSlice2.Create(10); // User equipment (UE) nodes for Slice 2

NodeContainer macroEnbNodes;

macroEnbNodes.Create(1); // Macro cell eNB (base station) node

NodeContainer smallEnbNodesSlice1, smallEnbNodesSlice2;

smallEnbNodesSlice1.Create(1); // Small cell eNB (base station) node for Slice 1

smallEnbNodesSlice2.Create(1); // Small cell eNB (base station) node for Slice 2

// Set up LTE

Ptr<LteHelper> lteHelper = CreateObject<LteHelper>();

Ptr<PointToPointEpcHelper> epcHelper = CreateObject<PointToPointEpcHelper>();

lteHelper->SetEpcHelper(epcHelper);

Ptr<Node> pgw = epcHelper->GetPgwNode();

InternetStackHelper internet;

internet.Install(ueNodesSlice1);

internet.Install(ueNodesSlice2);

// Set up mobility

MobilityHelper mobility;

mobility.SetPositionAllocator(“ns3::GridPositionAllocator”,

“MinX”, DoubleValue(0.0),

“MinY”, DoubleValue(0.0),

“DeltaX”, DoubleValue(50.0),

“DeltaY”, DoubleValue(50.0),

“GridWidth”, UintegerValue(3),

“LayoutType”, StringValue(“RowFirst”));

mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::ConstantPositionMobilityModel”);

mobility.Install(macroEnbNodes);

mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::ConstantPositionMobilityModel”);

mobility.Install(smallEnbNodesSlice1);

mobility.Install(smallEnbNodesSlice2);

mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::RandomWalk2dMobilityModel”,

“Bounds”, RectangleValue(Rectangle(-150, 150, -150, 150)));

mobility.Install(ueNodesSlice1);

mobility.Install(ueNodesSlice2);

// Create network slices

CreateSlice(lteHelper, pgw, ueNodesSlice1, smallEnbNodesSlice1, “Slice1”);

CreateSlice(lteHelper, pgw, ueNodesSlice2, smallEnbNodesSlice2, “Slice2”);

Simulator::Run();

Simulator::Destroy();

return 0;

We had clearly implemented the slicing HetNets in ns3 tool and also we provide the complete snippet to run the simulation. More information will be shared about the slicing HetNets and its execution in different simulations.

We are experts in conducting performance analysis on slicing HetNets by using the ns3 tool. If you encounter any challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We create virtualized network slices on the same physical infrastructure tailored to your concepts. Just share your parameter details with us, and we will work together to achieve the best results.